Chapter 524
Chapter 524
"What's the rush? Now that Uncle has been appointed to a rank of deputy second grade, it won't be difficult for Cousin to enter the Imperial Academy." Xu Heming said dismissively.
Li Zhiwei thought for a moment. Since Xu Heming said so, there must be a reason behind his words.
"Your Highness, since Uncle has been made Provincial Governor today, we should hurry over to the Li residence to congratulate him." Li Zhiwei thought that on such a joyous occasion for her uncle, she ought to go personally to offer her congratulations.
"My dear consort, I have only just returned to the residence." Xu Heming looked at Li Zhiwei with a hint of grievance in his eyes.
He hadn't even taken a sip of tea since he came back, and his little wife was already thinking of running off to her maiden home again.
Xu Heming wondered—had he done something wrong?
"My consort, are you dissatisfied with your husband?" Xu Heming thought this and so asked directly.
"Your Highness, why would you say such a thing?" Li Zhiwei looked at Xu Heming with confusion.
"You care for others more than you care for me." Xu Heming said in a sour, jealous tone.
"How can that be?" Li Zhiwei asked back without a second thought.
She carefully racked her mind, wondering if she had done something wrong, or said something wrong?
But after thinking for a long while, she still couldn't figure out what she had said amiss.
"My consort, in your eyes, I am nowhere to be seen." Xu Heming said with a pitiful look on his face.
Li Zhiwei frowned. She didn't understand—she merely wanted to go visit her uncle, so why did he have to turn into a jealous mess?
She had never noticed before that Prince An was like this.
"Have you been possessed by someone?" After a long pause, Li Zhiwei asked in a low voice.
After all, she herself had been reborn. Could it be that Xu Heming had also been reborn?
But when had he been reborn?
The man she had married—was he the same Prince An, or someone else entirely?
At this thought, Li Zhiwei quickly pulled herself out of Xu Heming's embrace, momentarily at a loss for how to face this husband who might have 'changed identities.'
Xu Heming was now heavyset with exasperation—how could he possibly look like someone who'd been possessed?
And where on earth did the word 'possessed' even come from?
He had no idea what went on inside Li Zhiwei's head, that she could even think of such an amusing word.
Still, seeing Li Zhiwei looking at him with such caution right now, Xu Heming could only laugh in exasperation.
"Alright, if it's just a matter of going to see your uncle, I'll accompany you back—how about that?" Xu Heming pulled Li Zhiwei's hand and said with feigned irritation.
What else could he do?
He had coaxed this woman into being his wife, so it was his duty to soothe her.
"Are you really Prince An?" Li Zhiwei still looked at him with lingering suspicion.
"If my consort has any doubts, I wouldn't mind letting you test the goods right now." Xu Heming leaned close to Li Zhiwei's ear and whispered.
Li Zhiwei was momentarily stunned at his words.
She saw the mischievous smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
Without thinking twice, she quickly took a step back and said, "Didn't you say we were going to see Uncle?"
After saying this, she immediately hurried out, afraid that Xu Heming might actually drag her into some mischief.
Xu Heming watched his wife's shy, flustered retreat and followed after her with long strides.
But just as they reached the doorway, Liu Ming came rushing in, saying urgently, "Your Highness, Your Highness the Consort, it's bad—the Young Prince has gotten into a fight with someone!"
Li Zhiwei and Xu Heming were both caught off guard by the news.
"Your Highness?" Liu Ming said anxiously, looking at Xu Heming.
"Where is he?" Xu Heming's face darkened at his words. He thought to himself that the past two days, busy with the wedding, he had left Xu Qingshi to his own devices.
He hadn't expected the boy to become so bold.
Going out and picking fights with people.
"Your Highness, the Young Prince is over on Xuanwu Street. He's fighting with the young master of the Zhao family and the young master of the Wei family. You should go there as soon as you can," Liu Ming said, frantic, afraid that if his master delayed any longer, Xu Qingshi would end up at a disadvantage.
"Hmph. If he had the nerve to pick a fight, then whatever the outcome, he must bear it himself." Xu Heming said grimly.
"We should head over quickly to have a look." Li Zhiwei said with some concern, for after all, Xu Qingshi was now her son too, and she didn't want him to suffer.
"I'll go alone. You go on to the Li residence first—once I've sorted this out, I'll come find you." Xu Heming said without hesitation.
"I'll go with you." Li Zhiwei shook her head instead. If a female elder happened to be called out by the other side, she could step in and handle it.
Xu Heming saw the resolve in Li Zhiwei's eyes and nodded in agreement.
The two of them quickly followed Liu Ming to Xuanwu Street.
When they arrived, they saw a large crowd gathered. A woman, dressed like a matron, was pointing at Xu Qingshi's nose and cursing: "Which insolent little brat are you, daring to lay hands on my boy's clothes?"
This woman was none other than Zhao Donglai's stepmother, Niu-shi.
At this moment, Niu-shi was angrily pointing at Xu Qingshi and Wei Herui, demanding an answer.
The two boys, though mischievous, had never faced such a scene before. Both of them were too frightened to make a sound.
"Mother... mother, it's not their fault." Zhao Donglai, who had been furious before, now stepped forward nervously, trying to take all the blame upon himself, seeing how his stepmother was scolding Xu Qingshi and Wei Herui.
After all, being scolded like this by his stepmother wasn't something new for him.
At that thought, Zhao Donglai gritted his teeth, thinking to himself that at worst he'd get a beating. His skin was thick anyway.
He wasn't afraid of his stepmother's harsh words, having long grown used to them.
"And you think you're innocent?" Niu-shi fumed.
Zhao Donglai was anything but trouble-free.
She had been lecturing these two brats, and he had to step up playing the good guy—did he really think he could get off scot-free?
Niu-shi had no intention of letting Zhao Donglai off the hook.
After all, the clothes Zhao Donglai was wearing were ones she had just made for him a few days ago.
And now—
Seeing that Zhao Donglai's clothes were already torn into strips of cloth, the fire in her heart burned even hotter.
Even though the Zhao family had money, it wasn't meant to be wasted like this.
That boy Zhao Donglai had no appreciation for all her hard work.
Thinking this, Niu-shi's gaze at Zhao Donglai was sharp as knives.
Zhao Donglai gulped and took a few steps back.
"Enough. I'm the one who did the hitting. If you have any complaints, take it up with me." Xu Qingshi was momentarily taken aback. He hadn't expected Zhao Donglai's stepmother to be so ferocious.
No wonder Zhao Donglai said no stepmother was any good.
"I hit him too." Wei Herui gave a light snort. He would never deny what he had done.
"Heh, whose household do the two of you belong to? Since when does beating someone give you the right to be smug?" Niu-shi's anger could not be extinguished at the sight of these brats.
Yet, the remnants of rational thinking kept her from laying her hands on them.
But that didn't stop her from going to their respective families to demand an explanation.
At the very least, they would have to reimburse her for the clothes.